Took a couple o quilting classes recently. Ladies brought their berninas and Pfaffs to do fmq. $5000 in a machine and they take it on the road! (i felt a little poor with my viking sapphire, $1300 lol) With a featherweight you can go to class with a $300++ machine which is much lighter and stitches great.
My singer 15-91 is a workhorse and has a huge class 15 bobbin. I am loving piecing on it!